Cyanobacterial blooms represent a significant threat to water quality
in inland waters. Imaging spectrometry, through detailed sampling of
the visible and near-infrared, offers the potential to discriminate harmful
from non-harmful cyanobacteria genera. Kudela et al. (2015-in this
issue) use field spectroscopy and data from the Hyperspectral Imager
for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) and MASTER to discriminate harmful
Microcystis cyanobacteria from non-harmful Aphanizomenon at several
water bodies in California using spectral shape-based algorithms. They
conclude that seasonal changes in the abundance of these two
cyanobacteria can be determined and harmful levels identified at the
spatial and spectral resolutions of HyspIRI without optimized atmospheric
correction. Finer temporal sampling could be achieved in combination
with other sensors.